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The purpose of the National DeSoto Club, Inc. (NDC), is to encourage the preservation, restoration and promotion of all De Soto automobiles, as well as to promote fellowship and the exchange of knowledge among all fellow members. Furthermore, the study, compilation of data, summary of information, and preservation of literature related to De Soto automobiles is encouraged. The NDC’s message board is open to all. The NDC’s Trustees and members are NOT responsible for the accuracy of any of the information posted to this message board. The NDC’s web-master may, at his/her discretion, remove any message that is deemed to be offensive, and deny posting privileges to the person who posted the offensive message.

Agree, great story. Be sure to reach out to the Club's 1929 model year coordinator. You will find his contact info under Resources to the left of the website, but I've also copied it in this reply. Les is great guy and will be eager to help you.

My Husband and I just inherited a 1951 Custom 4-door Sedan it has been in our family since 1973 and in storage since then, it has 46K everything is original and it is absolutely beautiful, pristine interior, only one tiny ding on a piece of trim .We live in NM and are about 1 mile from RT 66 . Our other vehicle is a 1955 chevy stepped that my husband is doing a frame off restore on. I am filling out the membership form. glad to be a part of this group

Welcome to the group and congratulations on finding such a great original Desoto. There are only 36 '51s registered with the NDC so it is one of the rarer models. There are a lot of helpful folks on this site so if you have any questions about your car don't hesitate to ask. Can you post some pictures? We would like to see it. Les

I will start by saying that my grandparents, and an uncle, were once very active in the NDC. My grandparents are Lila and Gordon Matthews and my uncle is Tom Matthews.

I have joined this message board for a couple reasons:

1. To see if I can track down any of the DeSotos my grands used to own.

2. To meet any members who knew my grands.

3. To gain knowledge about DeSotos.

Without doubt I am sure that my gramps is responsible for giving me the "Mopar bug." I remember growing up and riding around in his "old cars" and watching him work on them. His favorite were DeSotos. I remember visiting him once and counting five in his collection. There were a few other Plymouths and Dodges parked around the property too.

I have been lucky in that I was able to inherit one of his "old cars", a 1941 Plymouth P12 Special Deluxe. I am currently making her road worthy and will eventually do a complete restoration.

I would like to one day own a DeSoto, hopefully one of the models my grands owned, to carry on the Matthews/DeSoto relationship.

So that's who I am and why I am here. Thanks for letting me join and I hope to become a contributing member as time goes on...

Hey Matt! Glad to hear your background! Those of us that have been in the DeSoto Club a long time have very fond memories of Gordan and Lila. It seemed like almost every year in their prime they would always win the long distance award, and sometimes it was combined with the hard luck award! They drove that '55 everywhere to the annual Conventions, while those of us with less fortitude or mechanical skill were unwilling to drive our DeSoto's a couple hundred miles they were driving a couple thousand miles to the meet and their former home in Ohio.

My '55 Firedome is on the road today thanks to your Gramps. Several years ago I snapped a rear axle shaft in a local bank parking lot. I had the car towed home and then to a local repair shop where they verified the axle shaft had snapped. They fished out the broken pieces but needed a replacement shaft to get the car back on the road. I thought of who in the Club had a similar car they were parting and immediately called Gordon. He and other family members jumped into action, got a used shaft from a parts car and had it shipped to me via fast delivery. My car was back on the road after only a few days downtime. Please tell your Gramps I said hello and I that I still appreciate the help he provided to me.

My grands sure did seem to get around, especially when it had anything to do with DeSotos! The NDC Conventions were an addiction for my gramps. The day after each convention he was already planning for the next one. An my grams, bless her heart, never complained and always got in the car when it was time to go; no matter how long the trip was going to be.

I am also happy to hear that you have fond memories of them. Gramps was a very helping man. But he really shined when it came to helping with old cars. No matter the make or model, if someone called for help he was over there getting greasy. I sometimes questioned his methods but I have to tell you they always worked. Not the prettiest fixes, but very reliable. I know I have his DNA running through my veins because there have been many times I have figured out a 'fix' for something only to step back and realize the 'fix' had gramps written all over it!

I also remember your Grandparents..................I met them for the first time, at the NDC Convention in Plymouth, MI, many years ago. That would be about 1988-89 or so.

I got lost on the freeway, outside of Detroit, and there appeared a Desoto. I followed it to Greenfield Village, and out of the Desoto popped Gordon.

We met Lila back at the hotel afterwards.

They were a fixture for many years, at the Conventions. It was always an enjoyable visit with them.

I just remembered another story:

The NDC Convention in Doylestown,PA..........Wisconsin resident, and Club member, Wayne Lesjak, took the train to Philadelphia. As he was outside Union Station, standing at a stoplight, Gordon, and Lila pulled up in the Desoto, and gave him a ride to the Hotel.

Thanks for the stories. I'm willing to bet the Plymouth MI NDC was in '88 because Gramps had quadruple bypass surgery in late '88 and that put him down for a long time. Slowed him down a bit, but didn't stop him!

I am glad that I joined this forum and am getting to 'meet' you guys and hear your stories. Thanks for the warm welcome and I hope to hear more.

I too remember seeing your grandparents at most of our early conventions. In particular, it was at the 1996 convention in San Jose, CA where I saw his De Soto with its rear-end jacked way up into the air at the host hotel's parking lot. It seems that while on one of the driving tours, something had broken and your grandfather pulled the car over to the side of the road. Some of the other NDC members stopped to help, and determined that the rear axle had broken. Your grandfather said that that wasn't that big of a problem since he had a spear rear axle with them! (If I remember correctly, most of the car was filled up with spare parts.) So they were able to some-what fix the car on the side of the road so that he was able to get it back to the host hotel where he finished fixing it.

Your grandparents were awarded the club's Hernando De Soto Award in 1992 for their continuing and ongoing service as ambassadors of good will for the NDC. This is the highest award the club presents to its members.

You may want to start a new message specifically about your grandparents since not everyone reads these old messages even when a new post has been added.

Bill Noble

P.S. The NDC Convention in Plymouth, MI was in 1989; the 1988 convention was north of San Diego, CA.

Hello from Toledo, Washington. Name is Ryan Harris , 40 yr old father of 3 girls, Mopar fanatic. Recently inherited 2 1955 Desoto 2dr's. My fathers cars, being the only one in the family interested in saving them, instead of selling them, they became mine. One was a parts car (complete), and one was a driver when parked YEARS ago. Going to be a long haul, but with pointers and information I hope to gain from other members, hoping to have one road worthy at the least, by this summer. Looking forward to getting aquainted with you all, thanks for any help ahead of time . Ill post a few pics as soon as they come home from the farm.

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